Gundam Wing: Star's End
by Ryuko-chan
Summary: In AC 197, Relena finds that Heero is in trouble. She has to give up everything to save him, but what can she learn about herself? UPDATED: 3/15/03 Grammar edited for all chapters, Ch. 4 up!
1. Farther Across The Stars

                "Miss Foreign Minister?" said a voice. 

                Relena jumped, but quickly regained her composure, "Yes?" she said, trying not to sound like she was just asleep.

                "I'm sorry to bother you, but you have a letter, and it is marked urgent." The man said. Relena was once again surprised at the deference that all people showed her. She was just barely seventeen, but all the people around her treated her with the utmost respect. Of course, she had to deal with that her entire life, so it wasn't a strange thing to her. There were some days however, that she wished they would all leave her alone. 

Gundam Wing: Star's End 

Chapter One: Farther Across The Stars

                She nodded. "Of course, I'll get it at this console." She said, waving her hand. The man bowed and left. She sighed, and swung her feet over to the floor. Sleep would have to wait until later. Of course, sleep had always waited. The year was A.C. 198, that Relena was sure of. The thing she wasn't sure of was the time. How long had she slept? Though that mattered little, what mattered now was this letter marked 'Urgent'. She walked over to the desk, and sat in the leather chair, idly turning on the computer. 

                _I wonder who the message is from… she thought. _Could it be my brother? Or Heero.._ She wondered where Heero was. Doubtless gallivanting all over the universe. He had sent her an email five months ago, saying that he was doing transportation on his ship, basically being a chauffeur. Not long after Maremaia, and what happened with the Barton family, Quatre had been elected leader of the Mars colonies. And then, not long after that, came the news that nearly all the rest of the Gundam pilots were somehow employed by him, as keepers of the peace. She punched up her messages, and saw the flash of urgent on the screen. And the letter was from… Quatre? Relena's heart began beating faster. _

                "It couldn't be…." She murmured, "No." The first few lines of the letter confirmed her fear. 

                'Dear Relena Darlian,

                We regret to inform you that your comrade, code named Heero Yuy, has been deemed Missing In Action. On the day of 23-10-198, Heero Yuy was reported missing from his post leading the ship, "Zero Angel". Further news will be reported to you as it comes. 

                Thank you.' She was shuddering as she read, convulsing in anger and fear.

                "How… How could he? He promised me.. Promised that he wouldn't die." She murmured, trembling. She almost didn't get to the next line. 

                'Dear Miss Relena. This is Quatre. I felt it was my duty to tell you what exactly happened. We are fairly sure he is not dead, so do not be afraid of that. We know Heero, and I know that he will not die. On the twenty-second of October, Heero was on the shuttle when it was boarded by pirates. Relena, I know something has changed about Heero. He was given an ultimatum by the pirate captain, a man named Neuvieme. The message that we recovered from the computer and that the crew backed up went very like so, 'Surrender Heero Yuy, or I will blow up your ship.' Heero went peacefully, and a message was given to the first mate. Heero said, 'Tell Relena not to worry.' You can thank the first mate for that message, as soon as you see him again. In any case, the ship was last spotted near the planet Venus. The crew of the Zero Angel wanted me to tell you that they were doing everything they could to find him. I know that the pirates won't kill him, but Relena, they're after you, and that's the only reason they kidnapped him. That means that they won't kill him, but it also means that this is all the more dangerous for you. Please stay put, I know Earth does not want to lose its most popular political figure, and we all do not want to lose you. Please don't worry. Love, Quatre." Relena's face was marked with grief. Not only the grief of losing Heero, and all that that entailed, but grief in the fact that they weren't allowing her to do anything about it. There was a knock at the door.

                "Come in.." Relena said, her voice betraying her inner feelings. 

                Lady Une came into the room, "Miss Relena, I hope you don't think it's too forward of me, but could you please sign these?" she paused, "Miss Relena?" she asked, "Is now a bad time?" 

                Relena shook her head, "No.. no of course not. Welcome, Lady Une." She said with a false smile. 

                "Miss Relena." She said, concerned. 

                "H-how is young Maremaia?" Relena asked.

                "Fine. She is recovering well.. And she.. She is asking about her father more and more often." Une said, "Miss Relena, I am sorry. Is this… about.." She asked, gesturing futilely toward the picture of Relena's father, which sat on the desk.

                "My father? No, Une, surely you realize that I forgave you long ago about that. I know that you were not under control at that time. No need to apologize." She said briskly, standing up. 

                Une bowed slightly, "And I thank you for that, however, I just have these papers for you to sign." She said, offering them. 

                Relena nodded, her face set seriously, "I see, and what are these regarding?" 

                "They are regarding the October 31st meeting of colony heads and Earth sphere leaders. This is your agreement to attend. After this agreement, there is no turning back. They will expect you to be there." Une replied. 

                Relena nodded, and quickly signed the papers, "Good, I will take this as my return date." She said.

                "Return date?" Une inquired. 

                Relena nodded, "I'm sorry to treat you as a simple paper lady, but when you return these, can you please requisition some papers for me to go on a trip off-planet?" 

                "Off planet? For what reason?" Une said, taken aback.

                "Nothing important, it will say on the papers. Please do that for me." she said. There was such pleading in her voice that Lady Une nodded, and walked off, wondering what the problem was. 

                Relena sighed, "Now, for some business. It's the 24th, isn't it? No, the twenty-third. Good, that gives me a week and a day to get this done. That can't be a problem." She said with a sigh, though she knew it would be. She quickly typed up a message, speaking it aloud as she did.

                "Dear brother, I am sorry to bother you… I need your help. Just come to the Futago air strip tonight, and be prepared for another passenger. I'll explain on the way, we need to get to the Mars Colonies. Or, at least, I do. Tell Noin I say hi, and once again I am sorry to bother you. I love you, Milliardo. Please just do this one thing for me." she said, with a sigh, and marked it Urgent, sending it off. She knew that he had been visiting the Earth for the last few weeks, and was probably somewhere around it as she spoke.  

                Une came back, holding the papers in her hand, "Miss Relena, you're not going to wait for these to be approved, are you?" she asked.

                "You are right, Une, and I'm not going to use an Earth Sphere sanctioned vehicle, either." She said, "These papers are for those who believe that Relena Darlian is a follower of policy, and this 'trip' is for me. I'll just fill out the papers, now. Thank you for your help, Lady." She said. 

                Une blinked, "I wish you luck, Miss Relena." She said. 

                "Thank you." Relena said, and got to filling out the papers, very quickly. As she left to get to the airstrip, she left the papers on the desk. In the blank reading 'Reason for Trip,' There was hastily scribbled 'Family Emergency'. The door slammed, rustling them slightly. 

                Meanwhile, at the helm of a ship called Shiroi no Kaze, a pale man with blond hair sipped a cup of coffee. 

                "Sitting up late again, I see." Said the voice of a young woman. The man turned to see the speaker outlined in the light of the hallway. Her hair was slightly mussed, indicating that she had been in bed.

                "Yes, Noin. I suppose I just can't sleep when this beautiful earth is below us. I feel like the huge presence below me is creeping up. It's a nervous habit, I suppose. I've never been able to relax while a large celestial body is so near." He laughed, "I suppose I shouldn't have had such large windows installed in my ship." He said. 

                "Perhaps. Or perhaps it's just you having respect for the earth. It's a refreshing thing." She said, walking to lean on the chair behind him, "I myself have a hard time sleeping under these circumstances. Sometimes, I just sit up in bed and stare at the continents, outlining everything with my fingers. It feels almost like I'm caressing the earth." 

                "Hm." Zechs said, looking up, "To me, it's like an old lover. Even when I leave it, it hangs over my shoulder. And over the other… A new lover." He said, and she leaned down to kiss him. However, before their lips could touch, a klaxon sounded. 

                "What is it?" Noin asked, as Zechs turned to face the console. 

                He frowned, "An urgent message. From Relena." He scanned over it, and frowned, "Well, it looks like I'm going back to visit my old lover. Relena needs us." He said, moving his shoulders back so that she could read. 

                The small white ship powered up and streaked through the sky like a shooting star, sending white rain throughout the stratosphere. 

                At Futago air strip, Relena watched while the shining white ship hovered above the water, causing the sea to ripple slightly. Relena checked her watch. 

                _Only 2300 hours. Good. I'm making good time. I wasn't sure that he would arrive. She thought. The ramp came down from the ship, and down came her brother, jacket flapping in the wind. She couldn't hear him over the wind, but she saw that he was happy to see her on his face. He put his arm around her shoulder and led her into the ship. There was no one for her to wave goodbye to, and that was her own doing. If she had told anyone, they would have insisted on all sorts of protocol, and she had no time for that. They made their way up the ramp, and as the door whooshed shut, _

                Zechs paused, "Now, dear sister, what is this all about?" he asked. 

                Relena smiled, "For one, I have to thank you and Miss Noin for going out of your way to come retrieve me. However, time is of the utmost importance. I promise that I will explain just as soon as we are out of the atmosphere." She said. 

                Zechs gave her an uncertain glance, and then sighed, "Well, I know that if it wasn't important, you wouldn't leave your precious earth. I'll wait to hear the fantastic story." He said. 

                He pressed a button on the wall, "Lucretia!" he called.

                "Yes?" came Noin's voice. 

                "Prepare for liftoff." He said.

                "Roger that." She said. 

                Relena smiled in relief, "Thank you, brother. You don't know how much this means to me." she said, sighing. 

                "Well, just come on, I want to lift off fast so that we can hear this amazing story." He replied. 

                Relena laughed. 

                A short time later…

                "Mmm… Thrusters powered down.. flaps descended, orbit of earth stabilized." Noin said aloud, more for her own benefit. 

                "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING??" came a voice over the comlink. 

                Noin winced, "I knew I shouldn't have left the channel open.." she murmured. She pressed a button, "ES shuttle 26197 Shiroi no Kaze reporting, what is the problem?" she said in a sweet voice. 

                "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT IS THE PROBLEM!!??" the voice said, "Unauthorized liftoff from an Earth Sphere sanctioned port-of-call, with unknown passengers! WHAT IS NOT THE PROBLEM!?" 

                "Passengers authorized, Zechs Merquise, codenamed Wind, Lucretia Noin, codenamed Water." 

                "You know what I mean, Lieutenant Noin, there was a passenger picked up at Futago station, AN UNKNOWN PASSENGER. We want a bio on that passenger, now!" 

                "I am no longer called Lieutenant, ST Control. And this passenger wishes to remain anonymous." Noin said, closing the link. 

                The door whooshed open, and Zechs stepped through, "I got comm signal, who was it?" He said.

                "No one that one Lieutenant Noin could not take care of." Noin said with a grin, jabbing her thumb into her chest. She waved at Relena, as the young woman entered behind her brother, "Hey, Relena." 

                "Good evening, Miss Noin." She said solemnly. 

                Noin made a moue, "What's with the formality? I didn't greet you with a salute and, 'Good evening, Miss Foreign Minister,'" Noin said, hands on hips. 

                Relena shrugged, "I apologize, I feel like I should be formal, as this is the first time I've broken protocol." She said. 

                Zechs put his hands on her shoulders, "Now, now. That's a little bit of skewed logic…" he said, "Tell us the whole story."                 Relena sat down, and proceeded to explain. 

                "…And I decided to go." She finished, "Brother, please don't make me go back." she pleaded, with tears in her eyes, exactly like a young girl caught running away from home. 

                Zechs crossed his arms, "Relena. If it were up to me, I wouldn't let you go anywhere near even the ship that Yuy was on. But.. You are an adult now, able to make your own decisions. So, there's nothing, really, that I can do." He said. 

                Relena smiled, "Thank you, Milliardo." She said. 

                Noin frowned, and crossed her arms, "Well, I wish that you would reconsider, but I know if it were me.. I'd do the same thing. I just hope that Quatre doesn't chew you out." She said with a grin. 

                Relena laughed, "I think I have more danger of that from the people who will have to do my job for this week." She said. 

                Zechs smiled, "Well, in any case, sister, I trust that you will not put yourself into any more undue danger." He smiled, "If you died… I'd have to kill you." He said. 

                Relena laughed, and then sighed, "Well, I'm sorry to put you to more trouble, but… I haven't had any sleep in a long time. My nap was interrupted by some news, and if it's not too much trouble, could you direct me to the room where I am to be staying?" she asked. 

                Zechs and Noin exchanged glances, "Well, you can have my room, and I'll just bunk with Noin." Zechs said. 

                Relena blinked, "'Bunk'?" she questioned with a wry twist of her lip. 

                "I'll just direct you to that room then." He said quickly. 

                As they walked out into the hall, Relena grinned, "Is it too presumptuous for me to assume that you and Miss Noin are…" She paused to search her mind for an appropriately embarrassing metaphor, "Knocking boots?" she said, grinning.

                He flushed, not quite a blush, but very close, "Yes it is." He said, "Much too so." He said, "Here is your room." he finished.

                "Not even allowed to have a little fun with my brother…" she muttered, "I must really be grown up."

                "You also have a skewed vision of what it is to be adult, Miss Foreign Minister." He said, his finger pointing at her face, "And you need some sleep. We'll wake you when we get there." He said, shutting the door. 

                Relena sighed, and stared out the huge window, as she changed into her nightgown. She was unable to help herself from walking up to the window, and putting a hand on it, wondering which one of these stars was the one she wished on. She sighed, "Fine, then, I'll just wish on them all." She said, spreading her arms wide, "Stars, God, hear my plea! Help me to find Heero!" she said, "I will do my best, and the rest, has to be done by you, God." She sat down on the bed, and brought the last thing that she packed out of her suitcase. She wormed under the covers, hugging the soft bear that was Heero's last gift to her. 

                She looked at it, "Well, Heero, since you're not here.. I'll have to say it myself.. Mission Accepted." She smiled, aware of the cliché of her phrase, "I'll go across the stars for you." She said, "Farther across the stars than I have ever been…" she said, nuzzling her face into the bear, "Maybe at the end, I'll find you." She murmured, as she drifted to sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. I Don't Really Wanna Be The Queen

                "Relena.." came a voice… 

                Relena tossed, _Heero?_ Her mind said hopefully. She felt a slight pressure on her shoulder. _No… Not Heero.. she conceded sadly. _

                "Relena? Said the voice once more. 

                She sighed, "I'm awake." She said, though her voice indicated that the truth was hardly so. 

                The voice hesitated, "We have a problem." Relena's eyes snapped open, and she assumed her 'Miss Foreign Minister' Look, at the word 'problem'. 

                She sat up, "What's the problem?" she said, voice hard. 

Gundam Wing: Star's End

Chapter Two: I Don't Really Wanna Be The Queen

                "Well…" Zechs said, "We have the colony's defense system trained on us. It's not very strong, just about strong enough to blast the largest meteors from the sky, but this ship isn't very large, meant for survey, not battle." He said. 

                "No ships are made for battle anymore.." Relena said in a low voice, raspy from sleep.

                Milliardo smiled, "That's true. It's all your doing, little sister." He said, "But now, we have T10 colony defenses targeted to vital systems, and they want to know why we're out here. I was doing my best to keep them occupied, but they found your signature." 

                He sighed, "Now I don't see any alternative to revealing your presence." 

                She sat up, flipping her slightly tangled hair over her shoulders, "Right, well, I suppose I must make an appearance, then." She said, completely in 'Miss Foreign Minister' mode. 

                Zechs almost laughed, "I do hope you were planning on changing your clothes.. I don't know that they would recognize you.." he said. 

                She looked down, and realized that she was still wearing her nightie, one arm wrapped loosely around her teddy bear. She blushed slightly, but threw her head forward stubbornly, "Well, it might do them some good to remember that I'm only seventeen.." she said, jutting out her chin. 

                "Just get dressed," he said, ruffling her golden hair. 

                She frowned for a moment, but then grinned, and got up. 

                "Is she up?" Noin asked, looking harried, "I have been having a tad of trouble with these comms… They're barraging every sensor with questions of 'Who's the third?' Ships for miles around must be confused." She said, running her fingers through her hair, "Every language, too, just so we could get the point… Qui est la troisieme? Dare wa sannin desu ka? Quien es el tres persona? It's really giving me a headache." She said. 

                Zechs leaned forward on the console, staring at all the visual comms, "Huh.. I believe it.. I wonder how they preempted all the radio stations.." he said, "Open a link." He made a gesture towards the screen.

                Noin nodded, "Connection… in… progress.." she said, making the last keystroke. 

                Zechs pressed his lips together in distaste, "T10 colony, please take your weapons off of my ship." He said. 

                A forbiddingly angry face stared back at him, "We cannot identify your third passenger. As soon as that person's identity is revealed to us, we will consider it." The voice sneered.

                "You'll  be sorry, once she shows up." He murmured, face in one hand, "It's not as if anything you have out here isn't attributed to her work." He said. 

                The colony comm man laughed, "Please! Who do you think you have there, Relena Darlian?" they asked, and there was a round of laughter at the colony end. 

                The door at the back swished open, "Is my being here so unlikely-seeming to you as to cause so much laughter?" Relena asked, hands on hips. 

                The man on the other end of the comm was speechless, "M-miss Foreign Minister! I.. I apologize!" he said, bowing slightly. 

                Relena rolled her eyes impatiently, "Is it so much to ask to be left alone?" she questioned, "I have some important business to take care of in the outer colonies, will you please leave off targeting my ship.. I would hate to have to tell Earth Sphere that colonies were targeting the ship that I was in.. Don't you think?" she asked. 

                "Yes.. Yes.. of course, I'm so very sorry Miss Darlian.. We will take care of that right away." 

                "As it is, you've interrupted my rest, and I doubt I shall be able to get back to sleep now." She said crossing her arms.

                "If you want, we will send you with full police detail." The colony comm man said eagerly.

                "No, that will not be needed, thank you for your offer. I'm sure we'll be able to deal with any future enemies." She said. She noticed the Comm man flinch at the usage of the word 'enemy'. 

                Zechs took the comm, "I trust that there needs to be no more threats for this ship?" he said.

                "No.. No of course not.. You have our permission to leave." The man said, with a salute.

                "Thank you." Zechs said, and Noin closed the comm. 

                Zechs turned to look at his sister, "My my my… You sure have grown up, haven't you. Just acting a little testy can get you whatever you want." He said, and then smiled, "My sister, you are truly a woman." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

                Noin gave him a look, "Well, Miss Relena, that was a close call. If you want, there's some coffee in the mess. It's about.." she glanced at her watch, "0840 hours. A reasonable time to wake up, isn't it?" Noin said.

                Relena blinked, "What about either of you? Haven't you slept?" she asked. 

                Noin smiled, "Don't worry about us, we slept." She said.

                Zechs grinned, "Just fine." He said, exchanging a secretive glance with Noin. 

                Relena mock gasped, "Brother! It seems that time in space has calmed you.." she said. 

                Noin nodded, "Well, in case you're wondering, we really did sleep." She said with a dirty look towards Zechs, "And your brother over there stole all of the blankets." She said. 

                Relena giggled, "So.. Where are we headed?" she asked, plunking herself down in a seat.

                Zechs stared at her, "I don't know.." He smiled, "Honestly, you never told us." He said. 

                She blinked, ducking her head, "Sorry, well, you see… Quatre's email was sent from Colony T13, and that was where the Zero Angel last docked, so…" In the years after Operation Meteor, colony hierarchy had changed a little. The Lagrange colonies were set up around the atmosphere of Earth, and with the impending terraforming of Mars, there were the T'écurie colonies, set up around Mars. There weren't very many, and they were mostly occupied by workers, but T13 had been for merchant ships and supplies, and came to be the diplomatic government for the T'écurie's. 

                "So you figured that if anyone knew where Heero was, and if there was anyone who was looking for him, it would be his own ship." Zechs said, nodding, "Well, I suppose you're right, But I wonder how we're going to get past T13 colony without alerting Quatre." He said. 

                Relena nodded, "Lord knows that Quatre would kill me if he found out I was here." She said dryly. 

                "Right," Noin said, nodding, "Well, it would help us to know what Heero's ship actually does." She said.

                Relena bit her lip, "Well, it is the ship in charge of transporting colony and earth ambassadors around to all the colonies. They have luxury suites, I remember Heero sent me pictures. Someone went absolutely nuts snapping pictures around this place. Probably a new ensign excited to be on such an auspicious voyage. I also remember that Heero's piloting system was strange. He had a capsule built into the deck, so that he could pilot with his whole body." She said, making movements with her arms.

                Zechs nodded thoughtfully, "I can see how he would want that.. After all, all he's ever piloted is a mobile suit. I'm sure if that was all I had ever piloted, a normal bridge would make me feel a little agoraphobic."

                "Yes. That's exactly what the letter said. Huh… Strange. Anyway.. I remember seeing a young girl with.. Well, she looked a lot like you, Noin. And Heero was in a lot of those pictures, so I know he didn't take them, which means that there has to be at least a crew of three, most likely more, It's a large ship.." she sighed, "I don't know how we'll ever find even a large ship in endless space." She said, throwing up her hands. 

                Noin and Zechs exchanged a worried glance, "Don't worry, Miss Relena, I'm sure that even if we are unable to find them, the Zero Angel will find Heero, and then you can both laugh about this story." Noin said.

                There was a long pause. Relena frowned distantly, biting her lip, "Heero will never spend much time on planet. I wonder if I could spend a lot of time off of it." Relena said, in such a way that they knew she had changed the subject.

                Zechs shook his head, "You're too important to Earth, Relena." He said. 

                She whirled, "I know! And I hate it! I've never known what it's like to be a normal girl! I was queen once! I was always queen. I'm sick of being the queen." She said. 

                Zechs stepped forward, "Relena, you're not the queen any longer," 

                Relena stared at him, "I know. I know that, but do they?" she asked, pointing a hand out the window and into space, "People still call me Queen Relena, do you know that? They still call me that sometimes. I hate it.. I was never allowed to be a child. And.. And everything went so smoothly!" she shouted. Her face reflected a feeling she could not voice, "I mean, when I look at you, you had to really work to become what you are.. And, and no one bows to you! No one shows respect! What did I do? I did nothing! You are my brother, and yet, I still cannot know you, because you've had to work hard your entire life, and I've never had to do a thing!" she said, trying hard not to cry.

                Noin reached a hand forward, "Relena…" she said. 

                "Relena, you're still young." Zechs said firmly, "And you have to work harder than any teenager I've ever known." He said, "No other teenager has to worry about the peace of the entire world, and the entirety of outer space. You do. I don't know whether your father, or ours had wanted this for you, but you have the will and the means to be that for the Earth people, and the colonies. You cannot say that you haven't done anything, you've worked harder than anyone else." He finished, with the same firmness. 

                Relena nodded, "I know… It's just.. I don't know how to explain. I know that.. I would never be able to justify myself to Heero, who has worked so hard to be what he has become, and I... haven't done anything." She said, throwing her hands up helplessly.

                Noin shook her head, "I think I know something about Heero, and I know he wouldn't believe that about you." She said, "He is proud of you, just like we all are. And he really believes in what you have worked for, I know that. However hard it is for him… For all of us, we believe that your ideals are right. The hard part is implementing those ideals, with all that the human race has grown to be. But.. if anyone can bring peace to all worlds, I know that it is you." Noin said. 

                Relena turned away, "Mmm… Well, you'd think, being as important as I am, I would be allowed to get a little sleep." She murmured, knowing that they both were right. 

                Zechs laughed, "Well, you're here now." He said, "Allowed to sleep as much as you want." He laughed. 

                Before anyone could say anything else, the comm system complained.

                "Shiroi no Kaze here." Noin spoke. 

                "ES ship, please identify passengers." An uninflected voice said. 

                Relena blinked once, and then frowned and shook her head.

                "Ummm…." Noin cut the comm, "What should I say?" she said in a stage whisper.

                "Just give them a fake name," Zechs offered. 

                Noin nodded, and pressed the button, "Passengers.. Zechs Merquise, Lucretia Noin and… Elizabeth Tudor.." Noin said. 

                Relena gave her a dirty look.

                "Elizabeth Tudor?" the voice returned with a slight lilt. There was a pause on the other end of the line. 

                Noin blinked, "Hello?" she said.

                "This is Colony T13. Do you have authorization?" the voice asked. 

                Relena blinked once more, and frowned in thought.

                Noin cut the comm again, and helplessly blinked, "This one won't be as.." She said. 

                Then Relena snapped her fingers, "I know!" she shouted, running forward and pressing the comm button, "Trowa!" she said. The voice paused.

                "Miss Relena?" Trowa returned, amazed, and then his voice took on a hard tone, "Miss Relena… Didn't Quatre tell you not to come?"

                "Did anyone really expect me to listen?" she said. 

                Trowa paused, "Well, I think Quatre might have..." he said, pausing in thought, "But he's an irrepressible optimist. In any case, it's nice to speak to you again.." he offered. 

                Relena pursed her lips, "Trowa, I thought you worked with the circus." She said, "How did you end up taking calls for Quatre?" she asked. 

                "Well.. It's the off season for the circus, and when Quatre became colony leader, I suppose he just wanted to be charitable, and gave us jobs." Trowa said.

                "Us? Oh, you mean you and Heero." she said.

                "No." Trowa said, "Actually, he gave Duo and his new girlfriend jobs as well. On Heero's ship." 

                Relena vaguely remembered a remark about seeing the first mate on Heero's ship 'again'. She nodded, understanding now, "What possessed him to make you comm man?" she asked.

                "He said something like, 'You sound so much like an AI, people will tell you more things.' I dunno." 

                Relena blinked, and then laughed, "Trowa, that was meant to be a joke." She said. 

                Trowa made a thoughtful noise, "Huh… Well, I suppose it was.." he giggled a little. 

                Relena raised an eyebrow, "Why, Mister Trowa, I see you are getting better at controlling your emotions." She gibed. 

                There was a long-suffering sigh over the comm, "I suppose. Now all I have to do is find out how to recognize what is a joke and what isn't." he said.

                "Well, I wish you good luck. Can we dock?" she said. 

                There was a pause, "Well.. Quatre probably won't like it.. But.. If I don't let you dock, then you're just going out unprotected in space, aren't you?" he asked.

                "Probably." Relena said. 

                "All right, permission to dock." 

                "Thanks, Trowa!" Relena said, and closed the comm. 

                Zechs sighed, "Which one was that?" he asked.

                "The one with the bang, who hardly said a word." Relena said. 

                Zechs shook his head, indicating that he didn't know what she was talking about. 

                Noin sighed, "He used bullets." She said.

                "Oh, that Trowa!" he said, "Ok…" he nodded at Noin.

                "Docking Procedures initiated." Noin said. 

                Relena walked to the door, "Going for my bags." She said briskly. She walked out into the hall, and smiled.

                _It's nice to know that Trowa is doing so well. He was always so polite. I remember that story Heero told me.. When he talked Quatre out of an insane rampage.. Even though it nearly cost him his life. I remember how surprised I was, that Quatre went on an insane rampage. She laughed aloud. _I told Heero that I didn't believe him. Then.. Then he told me about the Zero system.. And the one that was in the Epyon. I wonder if Milliardo remembers anything about that system. It would be incredibly rude to ask, so I won't. Maybe someday he'll tell me.._ She growled, _See what I'm missing out on, being the Queen!_ She walked into 'her' room, and picked up her suitcase, hurriedly stuffing the things she had unpacked from it back in. She grabbed her scarf, and threw her sweater on. She opened the door, and…_

                "OH!" she shouted, nearly walking into her brother, "Milliardo, you scared me." she said, putting a hand to her heaving chest. 

                He pursed his lips together, "Sorry.. But that Trowa kid called back, and said that you should come incognito. Or at least a little disguised. Because there are some people that they think are the pirate's operatives, and we're not sure what they'd do with you." He said.

                "Oh.. All right." She said, caught a little off guard by the remark. Well, she knew she'd be in danger when she started this.. mission. 

                "Trowa had a little light to shed on why they want you. His, Quatre and Duo's theory is that they want to use you as a bargaining chip to get more supplies and ammo for their colony. They come from colony L9, I think he said. As well you know, because of natural dangers, there is no way that all weapons can be removed, just the hard core war weapons, and they have a whole colony's defenses to back them up, along with an irrationally souped-up spacefaring ship. I'm sure if you go incognito, and even under a falsified name, they won't bother you. All right, I'll go, and find the outfit that you wouldn't most likely wear, and do your hair different." He said, walking out. 

                Relena grinned, "Different, huh?" she said, with a smile. 

                When Relena emerged from her room, Zechs almost called a full security alert, he was so sure another girl had somehow gotten on the ship. Her hair was in odangoes, and she was wearing a cute little fuku. 

                "Ah….." Zechs said, "Where.. did.. you.. get that.." he asked, trying not to look at it. 

                "Oh.. Somewhere." She said cryptically.

                He sighed, and knocked on the cockpit door., "Noin, I'm taking Usagi here to colony, I hope you've docked?" he asked. 

                The door opened, "Usagi?" Noin said, just before she burst into laughter. 

                Relena struck a pose. 

                "All right.. I'm coming with you.." Noin said, grabbing her jacket, "I wanna see this." She finished. They walked out of the lock, and nonchalantly made their way into the station. 

                At the end of the entrance lock, someone stopped them.

                "Zechs Merquise?" the man asked. 

                Zechs blinked, "Yes?" he said. The man smiled.

                "Private Dix, Lieutenant," He saluted, "It's nice to see you again!" he said, shaking Zechs' hand. 

                He nodded to Noin, "Private." She said. 

                Then he looked at Relena, "Uh.. That a relative of yours?" he asked Zechs.

                Zechs nodded, "That's my cousin." 

                "Yukiko Masque." Relena said, bowing. She smiled. 

                The older Private grinned, "Did anyone ever tell you that you look just like Foreign Minister Relena Darlian?" he said. 

                Relena nodded, "I get that all the time." She said with a grin. 

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. So Many Masks

                The looks that the young woman who called herself Yukiko Masque was getting were few and far between. Mostly young people about her age, who envied her freedom. After all, being merely a high school student, taken here for a joy trip, her life was much easier than the normal dock worker at the space station. She could just walk blithely through the station, eyes wide at the wonders of space. The two men unloading cargo from the freighter _Autumn Rain grinned at her through their dirty masks of faces and talked loudly about her._

                "That little girl looks like this is her first trip into space." The first said, ruffling the coal dust and dirt from his graying hair. 

                The other younger one smiled at her, "I don't know. She doesn't look too little. This could just be her first trip to a space station. She is, after all, the cousin of one of the best spacefaring men ever." 

                "Oh yeah?" said the other.

                "Yup. News travels fast don't it?" the younger one said, "She reminds me of Relena Darlian. But of course, The Foreign Minister's not related to Zechs Merquise." 

                Miss Masque just smiled and nodded cordially at them as she walked by. The two men found themselves lifting their caps to her, even though she was just a child. 

                They stared at her as she walked by. 

                "Wow." Said the older man, scratching his balding head, "What a lady." 

Gundam Wing: Star's End

Chapter Three: So Many Masks 

                A muffled snicker sounded from the tall man walking next to Miss Masque.

                'Yukiko' turned to the man, "And what, may I ask, is so funny?" she said, hands on hips. 

                The woman on the other side turned, and smiled, "You can't really blame him, now can you?" she said with a grin.

                Zechs grinned, "I don't think I've ever seen my sister looking so…" he paused, searching for thought, "Um.. Youthful." 

                'Yukiko' crossed her arms, "I don't know. I feel so…" she frowned, "Naked. Look how much of my legs are showing." She said, gesturing, "They really ought to change these uniforms. How can anyone get anything done in schools these days?" she asked. 

                Noin shook her head, "You sound like my mother." She said.

                Relena blushed, "You're right. I'd better play my part better." She said. She widened her eyes, "Oh, wo-ow, it's so big!" she said in an awestruck voice. 

                Zechs grinned, "We-ell…" he started, "It needs to be big. All the ships coming and going from this colony dock here, and some are really really big." 

                "Yeah." Said Noin, "Maybe someday you'll be able to fly on one of those ships." 

                "That would be so cool…" Relena breathed with a grin. 

                Just as she said that, she realized that they had reached the first stop point. However, instead of the bureaucrat that they  had expected to see coming out of the corner customs office, it was Trowa. 

                "Hello, Miss Relena.." he said, smiling secretively.

                Relena blinked, and raised her hand to her face, "Ah-hahahaha.. O, I'm sorry, I'm afraid that you have me mistaken for someone else. Ahahahahah…" she said, giggling girlishly. 

                "Right.. Um.. what was it now.." he mumbled, "Elizabeth Tudor?" he said with an uncharacteristic smirk.

                "No, you've got me mistaken for yet another person.." Relena said, taunting, "My name is Yukiko Masque!" she said, sticking out her tongue.

                "Of course, Miss Masque. Well, the colony leader has time to see you now, so I'll send you in." he said.

                Relena nodded, and smiled, letting Trowa usher her into the corner office. However, it was empty. She turned to him with a questioning look.

                "Oh, I've got to go get him." Trowa said, in explanation, "Bye now." 

                Relena nodded, seating herself on the couch.

                After a time, she heard voices on the outside of the door.

                "But Trowa, I'm very busy.. What could be so important as to draw me away from the trader's union?" Quatre asked, sounding harried.

                "Oh, you've got a visitor." Trowa said. 

                "I do?" Quatre said, sounding astonished, "But there's no one scheduled!" he protested.

                "Her name is Yukiko Masque, and she's a teenager that wanted a tour around the settlement. She needs to speak with you." Trowa said.

                Quatre was doubtful, but since Trowa thought it was this important, he conceded. Trowa didn't usually joke around. He walked through the door. 

                Relena smiled, and waved her fingers weakly, "Hello, Quatre." She said.

                Quatre's eyes went wide, and he took her in from head to toe. He looked somewhat beleaguered, his pale face and tousled hair setting off the almost militaristic cut of his three piece suit. He let forth a strangled laugh, but cut it off. He shut the door, which revealed nothing but Trowa's smirk. 

                Once he was sure the door was locked, he turned, "Miss Relena!" he breathed in a stage whisper, "What are you doing here? I told you to stay home!" he said, not quite angry, more desperate.

                Relena was matter of fact, "Well did you expect me to just stay put? I have to do something, if it's my fault he's been taken." She said, shrugging. 

                Frowning deeply, Quatre swept over to his desk, "You don't understand." He accused.

                Relena drew herself up to her full height on the couch, "Oh really?" she said, "All I understand is that if Heero gets killed, and it's because of me, I wouldn't…" she broke off, looking down. 

                Quatre sighed, "I know." He said, "I didn't believe truly that you would stay there. Not if Heero meant as much to you as I thought." He finished desolately.

                "He does." Relena said shortly, "and I won't allow him to be hurt or killed on my account."

                "You do realize, Miss Relena, that if you do go, there's a chance that you could be killed." Quatre said seriously.

                Relena stood, bringing airs of aristocracy around her like a blanket, "Come, Quatre, there's always a chance that I could be killed. A piano could have fallen on me as I walked down the street yesterday morning." She said, with a hint of a smile, "But I don't think I could be killed this time." She finished.

                Quatre frowned, "Don't get illusions of immortality, Miss Foreign Minister.." he warned.

                Relena scoffed at the mere notion of the thing, "Please!" she said, "I don't even think about that. What I meant was that if the pirates want anything at all for kidnapping Heero, then they won't kill me, because that would lose everything on their side."

                "What do you mean?" Quatre asked.

                "What I mean is, if they want me, they can't hurt Heero or me. If they killed me, they would gain nothing. That much I'm confident in." 

                "Oh.. Well." Quatre said, "Where do you expect to go from here?"

                "I want to join Heero's ship. What was it? Zero Angel. That way I can help them find Heero, and perhaps sort all this out." She said.

                Quatre frowned, but seeing the look on her face, he demurred, "Fine.. All right. But please be careful. They should be docking in a little while. They need to restock."

                Relena, now confident that she would be able to do something, relaxed a bit, "So, Quatre, I'm glad to see you've adjusted to normal life." 

                Quatre smiled in a self-effacing manner, "Well, remember, Miss Relena, I was normal before the whole pilot episode." He turned towards the painting on his wall, "I suppose that was a side effect of this whole war thing… After a while, people forgot that the 'Gundam Pilots' were people first." He turned sideways to Relena, "It's a common mistake." 

                "Oh, of course. Even back Before Colony, family members would come back from war, and people would think they had changed." Relena said, "But then, as far as I can tell, not all of you pilots were 'normal' before the whole Operation Meteor episode. Duo was a war orphan, Trowa a nameless mercenary, Wufei was the last survivor of a colony clan, and then Heero. Well, he doesn't say much about his past. But since then, everything is different." she finished.

                "It's true. We have all changed." Quatre said, reflectively, "Perhaps for the worse, perhaps for the better."

                "Oh, for the better, definitely." Relena said, encouragingly.

                "Do you know who painted this?" Quatre asked, abruptly changing the subject.

                Relena lifted her face up to the painting. It was a beautiful muted space-scape, dotted with lazily spinning colonies, the earth holding precedence in the background. Soft colors were brushed over the top, making the deep purple canvas glow with celestial warmth.

                Relena breathed a sigh of awe, "No… But it's beautiful." She said.

                "Wufei painted that.." Quatre said proudly.

                Relena glanced at him, her face astonished. She regained her composure and smiled, "I never would have guessed…" she said. 

                "Yes, I guess he took it up as a hobby when he was on Sally Po's ship. The last time he visited me, he gave me that as a gift. Well, truthfully, he was going to throw it away." Quatre grinned lopsidedly.

                "No…" Relena said.

                "Well, I guess he didn't really like it. I'm sure you've seen that type of thing. Even some truly great artists see their work and think it's not good enough. Besides that, he took up the painting as something to relax himself, he never thought he'd come out with something worthwhile." Quatre gazed up at the painting, "Well, it's nice to have it anyway.." he said.

                "Hm." Relena agreed, "It must be nice to remember that at any given time, you have friends that are wandering about the system." 

                "Even if they're missing?" Quatre said, his eyes dark.

                Relena's lips pressed together, "Yes.."

                "Not too long after that, Wufei was sent on a mission." Quatre said, avoiding Relena's eyes, "It was top secret. And… he hasn't been heard from since."

                "Oh, Quatre…" Relena said, sighing. 

                "That was three months ago. But, I guess I have no right to be worried, for Sally Po isn't. I assume that it was a covert mission, so it's necessary for there to be no contact." He said.

                "But that can't keep you from worrying, hm?" Relena said.

                "It's that obvious?" he asked, smiling wearily.

                "Oh, well…" Relena said, "Not to the untrained eye, but of course, to one experienced…" she pointed to herself, "I can see the lines on your face, and the sunken eyes." 

                "We're kindred in that, I see." Quatre said.

                "Yes.." Relena laughed bitterly, "It all comes from too much responsibility, too young." She leaned back, and sighed, "All we need is a little rest, right?" 

                "Hm." Quatre agreed. There was a sharp beeping, not annoying, but so utterly impregnating that it was impossible to ignore. Quatre sighed, "No matter what happens, though, that sound always interrupts…" he said, smiling with chagrin. He tapped the comm button.

                "Yes?" he said, forcing himself to sound somewhat cheerful.

                "Sorry to interrupt your meeting, Mr. Winner, but the Zero Angel has docked, and they want to give you an update." The voice was unfamiliar to Relena. 

                Quatre pressed the button again, "All right, send them in." He gave Relena a doubtful look.

                The door flew open, admitting Duo, who was as cheery as ever,  "Hey Quatre my man!" he called, grinning. He stopped short, "Aw, you've gotta lady in here! Well, why'd ya let us in, then?" he beamed. He was wearing a one-piece spandex suit that looked ideal for space travel. 

                "Well, she's not exactly my lady.." Quatre said.

                Relena rose from her chair and offered a hand, "Hello Duo." She said.

                Duo's eyes flew open wide at the sound of her voice, "No way…" he said, "Whoa, no way!!" 

                "What's the matter, Duo?" said the young woman behind him.

                "Ah! Hilde, come meet Relena Darlian!" Duo shouted behind him.

                "Relena Darlian!" she said, in shock.

                The people behind her blinked in surprise.

                Thinking fast, Duo leapt out from behind her, "She's… uh… got Tourette's Syndrome.. Yells stuff, you know.."

                Though suspicious, the dock workers shrugged and went back to their work. 

                He keyed the door shut, and turned back to Relena, "Whoa, Miss Relena! What are you doing here?" his voice changed from excitement to wariness, "Didn't Quatre tell you not to come?" 

                Relena screwed up her lips, "A fine welcome…" she said, just a touch of poison in her voice.

                Hilde's eyes widened, "Duo… She's the Foreign Minister…" She said, a hand on his shoulder.

                Duo grinned, "Yeah, OK, sorry, Relena. It's good to see you again." He said.

                "It's all right, Duo. You've the right to be mad, anyway." Relena said.

                "Why's that?" Hilde asked.

                Quatre leaned forward in his desk, "Because, as of now, Relena is part of your crew." 

                Duo' s eyes widened, "Quatre, that's way too dangerous. I thought we agreed that it was best to keep everyone else out of this." 

                Quatre's face was doubtful, "Hey, you try to tell her otherwise." He said, gesturing towards Relena.

                Duo turned to her, prepared to try, even though he knew he would fail, "Miss Relena…" he said, pleadingly, "You can't be in any danger… What would the Earth and Colonies do without you?" 

                Relena's hard face gradually melted, "Doesn't anyone care about _me?" she said, close to tears._

                "Oh!" Hilde said, "Don't cry…" she rushed forward and pressed her hand on Relena's shoulder.

                Aware of the comforting hand, Relena wiped away her tears, and smiled, "I'm all right… Weary,  I guess." She stood, strong, and faced Duo, "Well, Duo… All I can say is, what will I do without Heero?" 

                Duo's face was blank. Then he grinned, "Well, can't argue with that logic." He said with a sigh. 

                Relena's face broke into a smile of relief. 

                "Well, now… You look lovely, little Yukiko." Zechs said, coming in the door with Noin not far behind him, "I hope that you can still smile like that when this is all over."

                "Oh, Milliardo…" Relena said, embracing him, "I couldn't smile like that even before this started."

                "Take care, sister…" Zechs said, "I don't want to have to come get you." 

                "I will.." Relena said, "And thank you." Breaking the embrace, she quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek.

                Turning to her, Noin smiled, "I hope to see you again soon, Miss Relena." 

                "Goodbye, Noin." Relena said, "Goodbye, Quatre." 

                "Goodbye, Miss Relena.." Quatre said, albeit with a worried face.

                "Come," Relena said to Duo and Hilde, "Let's go." 

                Duo sighed, "Always with the orders… No wonder they made you Foreign Minister." 

                "Yes, well… You follow them so well, no wonder they made you a soldier." Hilde retorted, half-ironically.

                The three of them walked out the door, and Relena felt her heart lift. Soon, she would be able to help Heero. Soon, she would finally get to see Heero again.

TO BE CONTINUED


	4. Gundam Pilot Things

                Fuzziness invaded his head, and he could only barely make out the two figures standing in front of him, backs to him.

                _Who is it? He asked himself, hoping to regain some clarity. His mind only came up with one answer, __Pirates. A smaller, more independent part of his brain deducted that they must have known something about him, as the drug that they gave him was stronger and in a larger dose than a normal man would be given. It had taken him hours to return to consciousness, at least consciousness enough to have an inner monologue. He had no idea how long he had been in his drug-induced coma._

                The ears of the guards must have been sharp, because one of them turned as his breathing pattern changed. Possibly that was why he was there. If Heero started to show signs of overdose, only someone with sharp ears would notice.

                "Awake, is he?" the other shouted, whirling. This one was larger, with breath that stank of meat. The other was smaller, with a thin body. He said nothing, but peeled back one of Heero's eyelids and investigated his pupil. 

                "Hmph." The larger one said, "Let's just put him under again." 

                The smaller one nodded and pulled out a large syringe. 

                Heero felt a pinching in his arm, and then no more.

Gundam Wing: Star's End

Chapter Four: Gundam Pilot Things

                The inside of the ship was darkened and enclosed, more so than normally. Relena had to duck her head down to get into the doorway. Duo breathed deeply as he shut the door behind him.

                "Good old recycled air… Can't hardly wait to get back to it…" he said, with exaggerated sniff.

                "You dolt." Hilde said, "The air in the colony was recycled, too." 

                "Hm." Duo sneered, "Just like you to not understand…"

                "Let me guess… Another 'Gundam Pilot thing'?" Hilde sneered.

                Relena hunched her shoulders subconsciously. The hallway's ceiling was tall enough to accommodate even the tallest of people, but the lighting and décor were such as to create the illusion that the she was merely inches away from bumping her head against the ceiling. 

                "Oh, that.." Hilde said, noticing her stance, "Yeah, it takes a bit to get used to. It's another 'Gundam Pilot Thing'. When they asked Heero and Duo what environment they'd be most comfortable with, the psychs came up with this. They figured that it would be less likely for them to suffer long-term agoraphobia, since they'd be on this ship for months at a time."

                "Did you ever get agoraphobic before?" Relena said, standing up straighter. Now that she knew she was doing it, she wanted to prevent a sore neck.

                Duo shrugged, "I must have. I never paid attention to it before. I would get a teeny dizzy feeling when I looked up at the night sky on earth. I can see how a long time in an environment like that would make you sick after a while. I still think that this is unnecessary. But Heero seemed to be pretty comfortable."

                "I think it's him they were thinking of in the first place," Hilde said. 

                Relena nodded, and pressed her hands to a door which seemed to have come up to her in the dimness. 

                "Oh!" Duo said, "Here, I'll key it to your hand." He pressed his palm on the pad and keyed in a complicated pattern of commands. 

                He stepped back, "There now, all you have to do is press your hand up there and you're good to go." 

                Pressing her hand to the key pad, Relena felt a moment of heat on her palm and then heard a pinging sound. 

                "There, now." Hilde said, "It's pressure sensitive, so you have to push hard."

                Relena pressed her hand up to the pad again, and the door whooshed open. She stepped onto the deck, smiling at the spread of stars on the screen before her. She studied the capsule that had been set into the deck where the captain's chair would be. 

                "Gundam Pilot Thing…" Hilde said, "Heero honestly COULD NOT pilot the ship without the controls being in a cabin like that." She shrugged, "I dunno, it could be that he just didn't want to. You can never tell with that one." there was a moment of guilt over her face, a guilt mixed with a sadness.

                Duo, noticing Hilde's mood, changed the subject, "I probably could have piloted it without the capsule, but its so much more comfortable in there, like, I dunno, the womb." 

                "The womb?" Hilde said, "Oh, please, Duo, never try to be poetic!" she started to laugh. 

                Relena smiled secretively. She envied their ease with each other, and the way that it seemed like they got along. She could even predict where Heero would stand in this interpersonal relationship. Permanent straight man. She smiled at the thought. 

                "So, how would you like to see your room?" Duo said.

                "My room?" Relena asked.

                "Sure, your room. Heero was the one who, pretty much made the specs for this entire ship. I mean, he told them what to make. The two luxury suites were designed by him, too. He calls the girlier one, y'know, the one with all the frills and lace and crap, the Relena room. The masculine one he calls the Odin room, but I don't know why." Duo shrugged, "Another weird Heero thing." 

                Relena smiled. It hadn't seemed like Heero would be the type to give nicknames like that, but Quatre had said he was changed. Relena allowed herself to be led to the room, thinking about the last time she saw Heero. 

                It had been about ten months ago, she thought. He had been on earth, awaiting the completion of the ship she was now within. It was the anniversary of that attempted coup. The Earth was celebrating Christmas, but Relena was not. 

                "Please get these forms to the Secretary of the Treasury. I have to attend to some important business.." Relena had said briskly, handing the stack of papers to a courier. She would have normally delivered them herself, it gave her dealings a more personal touch, but there was yet the third reworking of the Peace Treaty to take care of. An open forum was to take place in less than a week, and she needed to be ready. 

                She read the treaty over again, for what was perhaps the thousandth time, but this time her eyes didn't seem to be able to comprehend the text. She hadn't been getting any sleep.

                She put the sheaf of papers down and sighed, "I should try to requisition some time to sleep…" she said to herself. It was at times like this that her thoughts strayed. She wondered how all of her friends were doing, those Pilots. Especially… "Heero…" she muttered to herself.

                "Yes?" said a voice that seemed too familiar to be believed.

                "Heero!" she said, her heart skipping a beat. With surprise, of course, but also relief, excitement. "How in the world did you get in here?" she asked.

                Heero shrugged, "It was difficult." 

                "I can imagine…" she said, smoothing back her hair.

                Heero sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk, looking at her with his piercing eyes. 

                Relena was flustered, "Well, I know I told you to come see me every so often, but that doesn't mean you should do so without notice.." she said. Then she smiled, "But I'm glad you're here."

                Heero covered his mouth with his hand, "I'm waiting for my ship to be finished." he said shortly. 

                "Is that so?" Relena asked, "And then you're off into space." She looked out the large windows into the night sky, "You're lucky…" she said, distantly.

                "You've been there." he had said.

                "Yes, but not of my own volition. I have to go, and I never get to go where I want." she sighed again, "Maybe someday I'll visit you out there, Heero.." she said with a smile. 

                "Probably not." Heero said.

                She smiled wryly, "You're right. But it's nice to dream anyway.." She gazed out at the stars once more, not realizing when the blackness of the sky became her own.

                When she woke up, she was lying on the couch, covered by a thin blanket. She sat up, surprised. Underneath the fingers which she grasped the blanket with was a note written in a thin, italic scrawl. _Next time, don't fall asleep_

                She looked out into the room, "Don't come when I'm so tired, next time…" she said to no one.

                Relena smiled at the memory. Every visit from Heero seemed to be like that one. Of course, he always came when she was at her most put-upon, the weariest, the most run down. She invariably dozed off, sometimes as she was talking. It was very relaxing for her, to be in his presence. 

                They had reached the room, and Relena smiled. It was a blue scheme, with a flowered bedspread, and upon the bed was a little teddy bear with a blue ribbon around its neck. Heero seemed to be fond of teddy bears.

                "I always got the feeling he was keeping it nice, in case you ever decided to come around." Duo said, in his unpretentious manner. 

                Hilde grinned from behind him, "Actually, he would make this bed all by himself, every time. Wouldn't let anyone else do it." she said.

                Relena was struck by a question, "Were you three the only people running this ship?" she asked, curious.

                "Noo!" Duo said, "We've got a couple of Engineers around here too, but they're off this month. We trade off, you know, three months with them, one month without 'em. We don't get any time off, really, but it's not like it's hard work." 

                "I can deal with the normal problems with the ship that crop up every so often, and Duo can pilot. We feel a bit short-handed without Heero, and having the Engineers gone isn't helping, but we can't call them back." Hilde said, "It's really quiet now."

                "That's, of course, without the Engineers. Heero doesn't usually say much, even when he is here." Duo added.

                Relena nodded. She would have liked to ask them more about Heero, after all, they spent a long time in close quarters with him, but she was interrupted by a klaxon. 

                "Oh, damn…" said Hilde, rocketing back to the deck.

                "She's in charge of the communications." Duo said with a wry grin, "Heero and I just can't seem to keep our mouths shut." 

                Relena smiled faintly at the joke.

                "Maybe it's just me…" Duo said, shrugging.

                It was just him, but Relena wasn't necessarily in the mood for jokes, she made her way back to the deck.

                "…Is that right?" Hilde was saying, excited. She put the speaker down, turning to Duo, "It's Quatre, he's giving us permission to launch, and he has information on the pirate's location!" she shouted.

                "What are you waiting for, put him onscreen!" Duo shouted.

                Hilde nodded, and keyed in a set of instructions. 

                Quatre's face appeared on the screen, "Ah!" he said, surprised, "Oh, Ok. All right, the pirates who we believe have Heero had set themselves up around Mercury, but the heat of the area has become too much for them. They've been on the move for three days without us knowing about it, and now they're about halfway from Venus to Earth." Quatre said, "They're probably going to try to send a ransom notice down to Relena, because they don't know yet that she's not there." 

                "So, you think we should try and catch them out in space?" Duo asked.

                "No, that's practically impossible," Quatre said, "We know that the pirates have operatives on Moon base beta, so you should head for there. That way, you can surprise them." 

                "Moon base BETA?" Duo said, "I don't know… Don't you think it's likely to be their base? There's not much work done around there anymore…" He flicked a nervous eye over to Relena.        

                Quatre nodded, "It could be, so I suggest you exercise extreme caution around there." 

                "Got it!" Duo said, his smile daring.

                Quatre's image seemed to face Relena, "Now, Relena, I want you to think about this. Don't let this guy pull you into anything that's too dangerous."

                "Hey!" shouted Duo, but Quatre ignored him.

                "You're a diplomat, I think you understand subtlety. Remember, we all trust you not to get yourself killed in this mission." Quatre said, by way of a warning. 

                "Of course not!" Relena said, though a rock seemed to have dropped into the pit of her stomach. She had forgotten the dangers of this mission, almost altogether, in her lust to get free of bureaucracy. 

                "Over and out." Quatre said.

                "Mission accepted." Duo said, and Hilde closed the comm.

                Duo turned to Hilde, his face serious, "So, are we off then?"

                Hilde smiled at him, "Ready to roll.." she said, and they jumped into action. Duo opened the hatch to the captain's capsule, and Hilde put her comm. mike back on and began conversing rapidly in shorthand with what seemed to be air control.

                Relena felt out of place. It was one thing to be in her brother's ship, where everything was relaxed and without protocol, but this seemed like uncharacteristic businesslike behavior for the two of them, and Relena began to feel superfluous.

                "You'd better strap in." Hilde said, pointing to one of the plush chairs near the panels, "This thing gets pretty extreme sometimes."

                "Oh, right." Relena said, "Of course." She sat down in the chair, and strapped herself in with the many belts.

                A picture came up on the screen, "Hey, finally got it to work. This thing's been screwing up lately," Duo said, in what was obviously a link from the captain's compartment, "Hey Relena. Our Engineers got weirded out by a Captain who was just a disembodied voice, so we put this thing in. It doesn't really work well all the time, but it can be handy. Unfortunately, it means I can't just pretend like I'm listening when Hilde talks to me." 

                "Oh, you do that anyway…" Hilde said, flipping a hand at the screen, while she studied the console before her.

                "Too true. Anyway, what's the good word?" he asked jovially. 

                "We have clearance, and we're launching in fifteen seconds." she keyed it in, her hands flying over the keys.

                "Ok…" Duo said, "Here we go!" he pushed a lever forward, and the engines began to vibrate madly. Relena felt like the ship was going to come apart.

                Hilde, noticing again her distress, smiled, "Don't worry about that, it's another Gundam Pilot thing. MS pilot compartments are so close to the engines powering the things, that it's like living in a blender set on low. Duo didn't think the ship was moving unless the engines were vibrating, so he asked them to make the pilot compartment resonate with the engines. That way, he can regulate it better."

                "Oh.." Relena said, "Being an MS pilot must be more affecting than I had thought."

                "You bet it is…" Hilde said, a dreamy look on her face, "I almost wish we could've kept them around." She stopped for a moment, seeming embarrassed, "Not for fighting, or anything, but… You know, they always seemed to me to just be these beautiful, graceful ships. It's sort of like, dancing through space. You know?" 

                Relena didn't know, but she thought she would have liked to, so she nodded.

                "OK! 2… 1… LAUNCH!" Duo said.

                The ships vibration hit a fever pitch, and then the pressure of the burst of speed plastered Relena to her seat. It died down quickly because they were launching from an airlock, and not through atmosphere.

                Relena groaned, "Lord…" she muttered.

                "Well, it's only really annoying when the ship launches, or we're going through atmosphere. The Engineers like to stay in bed for the launches…" Hilde said, keying in coordinates with her other hand.

                "So, finally on our way, are we?" Duo said, seeming as relaxed as ever.

                "Let's get Heero and get outta there!" Hilde said.

                "Right!" Duo said with a daring grin.

                Relena felt once again left out. She wondered if Heero ever felt that way as well, but they probably went out of their way to keep him in the loop. They did have to live with him after all. She wanted, almost desperately, to ask about Heero, how he acted, what he said… If he ever talked about her. But she felt it would be rude, so she kept her mouth shut.

                Duo's image turned to her, "How 'bout you, Relena? You ready for a crazy adventure?" he asked.

                "I hope not too crazy…" Relena said, cracking a smile. It was honestly quite hard to be worried when Duo was around. 

                "Are you kidding? It would be a drag if it weren't insane enough!" Duo replied, laughing. 

                Relena smiled, putting out of her mind the dangers of this adventure, too very pleased to know that she would soon have something to talk about with the pilots. She had always envied their nostalgic war stories, and she would soon have one of her own to tell. She looked out the window at the river of stars they were swimming within and thought yet again about Heero.

                Millions of miles away, Heero was thinking of her. His dream-fever had just abated once more, and the first image that he saw behind his eyelids was her face. Without thinking about it, he slowed his heartbeat, and continued his deep, comatose breathing.

                Voices faded into his hearing, "…don't even know why we'd kidnap the stupid Gundam pilot. S'not as if he's worth anything anymore. Just like us old soldiers, huh? He got nothing going for him anymore, but his old war stories."

                There was silence at the other end, then a sound of shifting of clothes.

                "They don't tell us nothin' down here. Hell, I don't even know this bastard's name." Heero recognized the voice as that of the larger guard who was watching over him. Either he hadn't been asleep as long as he had thought, or they weren't changing shifts of guards. Heero decided slowly that it was probably the latter, which he understood. The fewer people knew where he was and what he looked like, the less dangerous it was. He knew that these roaming pirate bands were usually made up of all sorts, Alliance Soldiers, OZ soldiers, even civilians. As such it was probably difficult to keep everyone on the same page, as it were. 

                This was all reasoned out in Heero's head over a span of probably five minutes. The drugs were still affecting him, and because of his breathing patterns, not much oxygen was getting to his brain. It was becoming less bearable by the second. Without his volition, he took a deep gasp of breath.

                There was the sound of a person standing up very quickly. 

                "Ah, is he up again?" the guard said, "Good." 

                Heavy footsteps approached him, and rough hands forced his eyelids open, "Seems like he's good to go, now. We can try to interrogate him. Hey, you. I'm Dench and this is my pal Lee. We're going to interrogate you." 

                Heero attempted to form words, though he was still only just conscious, "Won't… tell you… anything…" he said, sounding like a child whose mother was attempting to wake him. The man let go of his eyes, and he blinked slowly, allowing his vision to clear. They were still backlit, so he could only see two shapes, one hulking and one slim. 

                "We'll see about that." Dench said with relish, "See, we've got us some fun stuff here… Sodium Pentahydrate, you know. I'm sure you know what that is…" 

                He did, it was what was commonly known as truth serum. Under normal circumstances he could definitely fight it off, but he didn't know what the drugs that were already in him would do to his resistance. But he said nothing.

                "OK, Lee. Give it to him." the other soldier said, his voice hungry. 

                Heero felt the needle enter his skin, and braced himself for the onset of the drug.

TO BE CONTINUED


End file.
